Q-Dir Review

very good
key review info
application features
  • Multi-pane interface
  • (9 more, see all...)

Undoubtedly, there is fierce competition between advanced file management tools. Whether you want to replace your Windows Explorer or use another file manager as a supplement, there are plenty of powerful apps that you can choose from, such as Total Commander, xplorer², Unreal Commander, Directory Opus, XYplorer, or others.

Although not as rich in configuration settings as the aforementioned utilities, Q-Dir sizes up the competition and brings to the table essential file management operations. This piece of freeware that is based on MS Windows Explorer and offers support for 32- and 64-bit versions, features a high amount of configuration options while remaining fast and responsive.

The quad-pane file explorer is capable of displaying up to four Explorer panes simultaneously. The program provides access to the hard disks, network folders, USBs, floppy disks, and other storage devices, and lets you access frequently used folders with the aid of Quick-Links, save a view comprising multiple folders as your favorite one, and make use of predefined hotkeys.

Tweaks during the installation process

Q-Dir gives you the freedom to choose between a normal or portable installation mode. If you opt for first option, you can install the application for all user accounts on the target computer or only for the current one, include third-party utilities (e.g. Zero Install, WinZip, WinRAR, CCleaner, ESET) in the package, run the program and show info about it at the end of the task, pick the target folder, as well as place shortcuts on the desktop, Start bar, or Quick Launch bar.

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The standalone version brings forth some advantages to your system. It doesn’t modify your registry entries and leave additional files and settings on the host computer, which may prove to be particularly useful especially if you have no administrator privileges. Plus, you can store it on any storage device, such as USB drives and floppy disks.

Intuitive interface

The GUI is highly customizable, and you may rely on the built-in buttons (placed on the top part of the main window) for quickly changing the viewing modes. Switching from dual panels (displayed vertically or horizontally) to four windows proves to be a matter of just one click.

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The best part about this file manager’s layout is that you can fully alter each panel according to your needs. You may switch to a full screen mode, adjust the size of the icons (e.g. large, medium, small), sort or group items by name, size, modified date, or file type in an ascending or descending order, and hide or reveal the tree viewing mode which offers quick access to the files and directories stored in your computer.

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Plus, you may refresh the info included in a panel, create new folders, easily browse to the desired location using the “Back,” “Forward,” and “Up” buttons, as well as access your desktop or “My Computer” area with just one click.

Another smart feature included in the package which makes navigation and file operations a seamless process is the multi-tabbed layout. This means that one of the panels can open multiple locations from your system at the same time and organize them in tabs, similar to the way web browsers work with webpages.

File management operations

There’s support for drag-and-drop and handy buttons embedded in each panel for helping you work with the following features: delete, cut, copy, or paste items, and run various Windows utilities, such as Regedit, Notepad, Calculator, Command Prompt, and others.

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The “Quick-Links” function is implemented in order to help you access frequently used folders. You can save the desired directories and organize them within a folder structure.

Plus, you can count on the “Favorites” option for saving a view embedding multiple folders and the overall configuration of the panels as a separate file to a user-defined location from your computer (QDR file format). By performing a double-click mouse operation on the shortcut of the item, you can open up the folders and configuration settings as they were saved.

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What’s more, Q-Dir lets you filter out items using wildcards, and you can activate the automatic feature in order to make the written text wildcarded by default. Last but not least, you can make the tool display a simple object count or the size of the selected object (including or not subfolders), and highlight active items.

Extra features that you can play with

Q-Dir lets you use a screen magnifier in order to check out the desired desktop area in detail, print the information or export it to TXT, CSV, HTML, XLS, or DOC file format, as well as run multiple instances of the program (this may affect your CPU and memory performance).

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What’s more, you can open the application (by default) using the normal, maximized, current or last window position mode, center the primary window in the middle of your screen or align it to the left of right edge of the desktop, switch between a classic or flat displaying mode, and open up the tool using the desired viewing mode (e.g. two or four panes). Plus, you may alter the background color, show the folder size (e.g. KB, MB, GB), and experiment with tons of preset hotkeys.

Configuration settings

The General tab embeds parameters that allow you to add Q-Dir to the context menu, show hidden files and folders, hide extensions for known file types, and preview different file types (e.g. AVI, BMP, ICO, JPG, PDF).

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One of the best features bundled in this app lets you use different colors for file extensions. For example, you can assign a custom color for EXE, DLL, and BAT files, and customize the text in terms of italic, bold, underline, and italic options. The current configuration settings can be saved as your default one or exported to INI file format.

Other notable configuration settings worth being mentioned let you transfer the column settings from one panel to another, apply filters (e.g. ignore folders and browsable items, specify file extensions), add folder shortcuts and program paths in order to start or trigger actions, create a list with Quick-Links, and make file associations.


The Good

Several smart features included in this application make it an ideal replacement for Windows Explorer. You can make use of the multi-pane interface for making file management easier, choose between several layouts, color files according to their extensions, create Quick-Links for fast folder access, save the current configuration view, print or export file listing data to different formats, and write wildcards.

Tests have shown that CPU and RAM usage is low, so your computer performance is not burdened, and you can also use the portable mode for running the app directly from a USB flash drive.

The Bad

Q-Dir only comprises essential features for helping you carry out file management operations, so you cannot work with advanced ones, such as FTP client, user-defined hotkeys, checksum creator, built-in compression tool, file and directory comparison, duplicate file detection operations, batch renaming options, advanced search through any type of file and its metadata, and secure file deletion algorithms.

The main panel is quite intuitive but not the same thing can be said about the configuration window which targets power users. There’s no support for a help manual (only some online brief notes) that could help you find you more about the program’s capabilities. Not all the features are translated into English, as some are left in German.

The Truth

Q-Dir doesn’t offer a complete suite of tools for helping you manipulate files and folders but it certainly brings some features useful for regular browsing. It excels in providing a customizable interface where you can arrange up to four separate Windows Explorer views while embedding all standard Explorer features in each panel.

user interface 4
features 3
ease of use 3
pricing / value 5


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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Photo Gallery (8 Images)

The GUI is highly customizable, and you may rely on the built-in buttons (placed on the top part of the main window) for quickly changing the viewing modes
You can check out the configuration panel for tweaking the dedicated parametersYou can check out the configuration panel for tweaking the dedicated parametersYou can check out the configuration panel for tweaking the dedicated parametersYou can check out the configuration panel for tweaking the dedicated parameters
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